The Legend of Zelda: Balance of Power
by emm-ee-emm
Summary: I wish I could summarize, but I can't without spoiling the story. A lot has to remain under wraps until you read because of the surprises waiting. I twist a lot of the series predictables to create an adventure that has never been seen in Zelda before.
1. Chapter 1

**The Legend of Zelda: Balance of Power**

_By: emeeem_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Zelda put her hand on the railing as she walked down the stairs. She noticed that the railing was starting to feel rougher. Given her line of work, she thought nothing of it. That is, she thought nothing of it until an incredibly sharp pain shot up instantaneously through her index finger, making her yank her finger away.

"Ow. Stupid splinter," she muttered to herself as she pulled it out. She dabbed her finger on her clothes to get rid of the small bleeding. "That's a pretty big one, too." She decided to be more careful from now on, and get that replaced if she could. Maybe Link could hack something together with his sword. But then again, that sword was the cause of all this in the first place. If Link would watch where he was walking, he wouldn't so carelessly bump his sword against that railing. However, she did not want him to have it out of the sheath unless necessary. As Link's boss, she was not about to put her power in such danger. She did know that she could be a little rough on him, sometimes.

Deciding not to let this matter go anymore, she went to Link's door and barged in without warning. She knew he wouldn't complain. He never did. In fact, he never really said much at all.

"LINK!" she shouted, "I've had enough of you and your equipment!"

Link fell out of bed, looked up at Zelda, and had the most shocked expression on his face. Whether he was more scared of her yelling or her punishment, he wasn't sure.

"You are to keep that sword, shield, and everything else in this room from now on, understand?"

Link's expression ditched some of the shock to make way for some confusion as he nodded. He knew he had no choice, but he still wanted an explanation.

"I know you want to protect me. That's what all the great heroes throughout Hylian history have done for their respective Zeldas. But this is getting ridiculous. If there was anyone among us who shouldn't be, I'd know about it and kill him myself! And I _think_ I can keep track of the number of people in a space this small. But when you haul your equipment around on your back, you end up careless! The railing outside has been very chipped and banged up and I am not happy about it! I've been getting small splinters for weeks now, and just now, I got a huge one that made me bleed! BLEED! Is that any way to treat your Princess?"

Link's expression turned apologetic as he looked to his sword and shield. As much as he hated to abandon them like that, he had no choice. She'd likely kill him if he didn't acquiesce. He nodded again in understanding, and went outside to sit and think.

Just as he sat down under one of the massive wooden pillars, a man's voice screamed rather loudly a single word: "LAND!"

The call was not regarded as great news; such calls had been made before. But when another man looked in the same direction, and saw how much land there was, he started shouting, "Captain! Captain! Come here, Captain Tetra! Look at this! More land than we've ever come across before!"

Immediately, Link and the rest of Tetra's pirate crew gathered at the front of the ship. Everyone got giddy and ecstatic looks on their faces when they saw that this time, the land found stretched along the entire sea, creating the horizon. It sure enough looked like it could be a continent. This side was big enough; that was for sure.

Tetra stood up on the railing at the front of the boat with a triumphant look on her face. "Pirates, this is it! This is our New Hyrule!"

For the longest time, they had been traveling through uncharted waters, finding naught but large islands that could maybe pass for small-country-sized pieces of land. Plus, small societies existed on most of these landmasses. But the one that lay before them was the biggest they'd ever found. There was no way they were going to try to sail around it for days, fail, and try the other way for several more days, exhausting their remaining supplies in the process. They landed the ship, and Tetra began ordering the crew (including Link) on how to build the temporary shelters until they could make a permanent settlement. They all slept the night, and woke up the next morning with a resolve to start a society right away.

The New Hylians worked harder than they ever had aboard the ship. In time, they had a house, and then a few. The house that Link and Tetra lived in was slightly nicer than the rest. For the first few months, as they were alternately building and surviving, they survived on what little the pirates caught and what feasts Link caught. Because Link could prove himself to find food for more than two people per day, Tetra sent her former crew (now New Hylian citizens) to go back to the other islands, reaching the Great Sea of the Old Hyrule if possible, and bring others to New Hyrule, that it might be populated and evolve into a great nation. Ships came in by the day. Tetra soon learned that she would not be able to know everyone's names, since there were so many once population really started picking up. More people meant that more food could be produced, and more food meant more development of the land.

For instance, soon after people started taking interest in a land-based home, Link and Tetra's house was much nicer. Link and Tetra's house soon turned into multiple stories, then a mansion, and then, eventually, a Castle. A New Hyrule Castle. It was from here that the future of the Zelda bloodline would rule.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Though people were pouring in from the Great Sea, and New Hyrule was developing at a speed that Tetra could barely keep track of, she still found that ruling these people was a challenge. She figured that since she was Zelda by the back of her hand, she ought to give that kind of life a shot. As it turned out, it was not without its perks, and it was not without its hardships. But Link was able to help with most of the hardships. His face provided an immense amount of inspiration for some of her rulings.

Tetra (who I refuse to refer to as Zelda, as she is radically different from the rest) and Link essentially took up a silently but mutually agreed-upon joint rule. Being a woman of words, Tetra was far more active than Link. Link handled mostly military matters, for New Hyrule still had no idea what lay outside its ever-expanding borders.

Link and Tetra ruled together for many years, even ending up looking like adults in the process. As they kept track of the general types of people coming in, they found that Zoras had brought Gorons. The Zoras resigned themselves to the waters of the Great Sea, only going out as far as the Princess was willing to watch over and consider part of New Hyrule. The Gorons, whose numbers had been dwindling over recent years, greatly assisted the rapid land-bound expansion, and increased their numbers while they were at it. Eventually, the Gorons and Zoras were so far out of Tetra's reach, and there were so many other numerous people, that Tetra decided to hand-pick a member of each race and appoint them as government representatives. These chosen few, one from the Gorons, one from the Zoras, one from the Hylians, one from the Gerudo, and one from the Kokiri, were to make a personal report to Tetra and Link on the status of their region every so often, and more as necessary (just in case of immediate issues). And despite their pleas and bargains and negotiations, the Zoras were unable to expand their watched territory significantly. Naturally, they went out further anyway, but Tetra made sure that they were all well-informed that they were responsible for themselves outside of her reign.

During the many years that they lived and reigned, Link and Tetra had a child. A young Princess named Zelda. They wanted to model New Hyrule from as much of Old Hyrule as they could piece together. At this point, nothing was going to stop the peace spreading all over New Hyrule. Tetra was also open to historian opinions as well, often asking the other representatives for advice and Link for approval before accepting a new piece. In her study, Tetra had found that the first Princess Zelda and a prince had fallen very deeply in love. But an evil magician placed a curse on Zelda, and died before he reversed it. Overcome by grief, the prince decreed that all future Princesses of Hyrule be named Zelda, in honor of the first one. This Zelda was awakened years later by a hero named Link, and a happy ending was had.

As young Princess Zelda was studying all this history, she couldn't help but be on the verge of plopping down on the book and getting some much-wanted sleep. She couldn't stand the history lessons being taught. I mean, sure, some of the adventures sounded dangerous. But such things, to Zelda, could only be real in fictional games. Life was not a fictional game to her. Her life was very important to her. Her life was important to her parents, too. On the back of her right hand, Zelda had three dark triangles. She'd noticed in the past that her mother and father had the same designs on the backs of their hands, except that on her father's left hand, the bottom-right triangle was lit up, and on the back of her mother's right hand, the bottom-left triangle was lit up. She didn't have any clues as to who held the top piece. Except for the recurring names of Ganondorf and the extremely similar Ganon. She didn't have a good grasp of what the triangles were for, or why her family and this guy had them. But she knew that one day, her parents would somehow transfer their triangles to her. The last Ganondorf, according to her history lessons, was apparently petrified somewhere under the sea with a sacred sword blade in his head. As if there was any chance of anyone getting that one, ever.

Zelda herself was a pretty stereotypical Zelda. She wore the usual pink and purple as her primary colors on her dress, she was absolutely beautiful, and she had long, blond hair and an overly-fancy tiara. Starting with her twelfth birthday, she started sitting in on most of her parents business, learning how to rule New Hyrule and preserve the paradise that Tetra, Link, and the pirate crew had created. She listened intently, being more interested in politics and law than history. Especially when all that history was supposedly buried under the sea. But her parents would ask her to leave during more gruesome or complicated matters. She did, respecting that they had her best interests at heart. At fourteen, she no longer had to leave for anything. All the gruesome and complicated matters that popped up, she was allowed to sit in on and listen to. Occasionally, her parents would even quiz Zelda, asking her for what her rule on the matter at hand would be. Usually, Zelda was right, given how hard she'd studied this much more intently than history, or anything else, for that matter. If a matter was too complicated for young Zelda to understand, the story was usually repeated, and Tetra would give Zelda a hint by revealing part of the ruling. From there, Zelda could usually piece it together.

About a week before a very special day, Zelda noticed that some members of each race were starting to camp near the castle. It kinda freaked her out to see so many people and races at once, and she had no idea why they were camping. Whenever she would ask Link or Tetra, Link wouldn't answer, and Tetra would subtly switch the subject so that Zelda didn't notice. The day before her sixteenth birthday, Zelda was called to a private talk with Tetra and Link.

"Honey," started Tetra, "take a good look at the back of your right hand."

Zelda held it up for all three of them to see. "Three triangles. What about 'em?" As if to answer her question, she continued, "I've seen the triangles on the backs of Dad's left had and your right hand. Does this have something to do with that?"

As Link nodded, Tetra simply said, "Yes. It does. It has a great deal to do with all of us. You are to lead New Hyrule when we are older, and these will help you well. No doubt you've read of the Triforce in your history studies?"

"As if I'd remember it," retorted Zelda. "I can barely remember which hero titles go with each era."

"Well, you should at least know an overview of the legend," said Tetra, obviously about to go into a history lesson.

"The Triforce is divided into three parts. Each one represents what the Three Goddesses stand for. When the Goddesses left this world after creating everything, they collided at a point, and that was where the Triforce remained – in the Sacred Realm. The three parts are Courage, Wisdom, and Power. I (_here, Tetra holds her right hand visible_) have the Wisdom piece. Your father (_at this point, Link held up his left hand_) has the Courage piece. Ganondorf, a name you should recognize, has the Power piece. Tomorrow at sundown, right after dinner, we are going to have the biggest public display New Hyrule has ever seen. We will go to the public entertainment area of the Castle. It is there that you will inherit the pieces that your father and I hold. This will light up the two lower triangles on your hand and darken the proper ones on ours. You will need these if you are to rule well. The viewing of such an event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and participating (like we are) is even rarer. That is why the people have camped out. They're waiting for the doors to open. Only a small number of our people will be able to see anything, regardless of whether they have seats or not. And that seems to be the reason we wanted to talk to you in the first place. Are you okay with this?"

As soon as she heard how the Triforce tied into her own life, Zelda could do nothing but stare, listen, and think. She stared to show her attention. She listened to how she was to inherit the powers of goddesses. She thought about what kind of implications that might include. She only got a few hours of sleep that night, getting another few during the day in the form of a nap. She was awake, alert, and ready when it came time for the ceremony.

The people filled up the entertainment area in a matter of a few minutes. They filled all seats, stood in aisles and the back, and generally climbed all over the place to see over everyone else. The government representatives had reserved seats on the stage, where they were safe from the pandemonium of the crowd.

Zelda came from the right, and her parents came from the left. From their own point of view, Link was on the right and Tetra was on the left, which left the Triforce hands conveniently placed. The murmur of the crowd quieted down as people realized that it was happening. Everyone wanted to see.

Zelda knelt before her parents, as the three of them had practiced earlier. She held out her right hand and showed the dark triangles to the crowd, who started to murmur again. Palm extended and arm bent for convenient distance, Zelda turned back to her parents. Tetra put out her right hand and turned her wrist halfway around, so that the marks on the two hands matched up. As she placed her hand on Zelda's, she said, "Princess Zelda, the Triforce of Wisdom is yours."

Trying to give the audience the view they wanted, some of the people saw the triangle on Tetra's hand darken. When she removed her hand, the corresponding one on Zelda's hand was glowing gold. Zelda looked at it, thanked her mother with a bow from her kneeling position, and prepared to get her father's piece.

Link arranged his left hand in a way that mirrored what Tetra had previously done. He stretched his left hand out, turned his wrist halfway around, and placed his hand on the back of Zelda's, so that the marks matched. Again, the crowd saw Link's triangle disappear. And when he removed his hand, the corresponding triangle on Zelda's hand was glowing gold. Now, both of the bottom triangles were alive on Zelda's hand. Only the top one was darkened. When it was done, Zelda stood up, showed the back of her hand to the audience, and had the biggest grin on her face as they applauded her for receiving this. But as they cheered, Zelda's expression went blank, and she fell down. In fact, if her parents hadn't reacted so quickly, she would have fallen off of the stage and into the crowd. Zelda was laid out on the stage, somewhere between shivering and convulsing, with her expression still blank, but her eyes closed.

A very, very worried Tetra asked, "Zelda?"

Zelda could only moan through what was happening. She lightly moaned to acknowledge her mother.

"Honey, what's happening?"

"It…it hurts…." Zelda gasped out. Her breathing was starting to vary.

Tetra bent down to her daughter's ear and whispered, "Is it physical or mental?"

"Mental," whispered the princess between breaths. Clearly, she was in a great deal of some form of agony.

"Will you be alright?"

"Think...nn…hope...so." The Princess was almost on the verge of unconsciousness.

Link started to bend down with an equally worried look on his face. Tetra looked back at him, still worried. The crowd was spellbound, wondering what would happen to their future leader. Suddenly, Zelda stopped shaking. Her breathing returned to normal. She opened her eyes, tears going away almost instantly, and said very surely but monotonically, "Now, I know." 

"Know what?" asked Tetra, along with several shouts from the crowd.

"The Triforce," replied Zelda, still in a mostly monotone voice.

The crowd began to murmur about this. So Zelda decided to be more specific.

"The Triforce pieces have given me their memories. The pieces must have reacted to each other. I know the stories of those who held these pieces before me. I know every era's hero who went by the name of "Link". I know every princess named "Zelda". I've seen every battle with "Ganondorf". I know everything about the Triforce."

For the still monotone and determined voice, it was almost noticeable that there was more to it: Zelda's thoughts on the memories. Fortunately for her, no one thought to ask.

Zelda turned in rather early that night. And the next morning, she, along most of Link's collected equipment, was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Fortunately for Zelda, Tetra had kept her old pirate ship in incredible (and definitely useable) condition. Link had even been made to replace the chipped-up, splinter-inducing railings. And now Zelda was heading out to the Great Sea on a quest of her own, just like so many Links from all those eons ago. In fact, much like her father before her, she had set out on a quest for a Triforce piece. But she already had the pieces of Wisdom and Courage. She knew full well what she was getting into. She knew that there was a rather good chance of reviving Ganondorf, wherever he was.

She sailed for what seemed like forever, noting why it was called the Great Sea. Once she was well out of New Hyrule's water territory, she had noticed that there was a tingle on the back of her right hand. No, not the fairy-wannabe kind. Like, a feeling. She looked, and there was a small golden spark on the side of the dark triangle. She thought nothing of it, and continued sailing. She'd look at it again from time to time, and it appeared to randomly change position on her hand. She'd leave figuring out that puzzle for the next time she found a place to restock supplies.

One by one, Zelda came to different islands. They looked like they'd been deserted for years. Zelda put two and two together on this and figured out why: everyone was living in New Hyrule. Because there was no one around, she didn't have to pay for what she supplied her ship with. Good thing, too. She hadn't brought any money. But she always brought the sword and shield aboard, just in case of the random monster or two. At each island, she picked up as much supplies as would fit on her ship, and would spend a great deal of time thinking about the random spark on her hand. Since there was no one around, she felt a little lonely, but it also provided a quiet environment for her thinking. She did not object to that last part.

While picking up a rather large box one day during a restock, she could do nothing but look at her hand. The spark was jumping wildly around the outside of the dark triangle, and she'd never noticed it do that before. She set the box down and dealt with her hand. Holding her hand out in front of her, it slowed down to a small shiver. Going on a big guess, she set her hand down on the ground to stabilize it completely. The spark stopped moving. She twisted her hand around a little, wondering why the spark was there. It started jumping wildly again. This confirmed Zelda's guess.

"It's reacting to my movements. What could it mean…?"

Of course, no one was around to hear her, but she spoke nonetheless. It helped her feel not so lonely to hear a voice, even her own. She decided she'd figure out the rest later. For now, she had to get back on her ship with supplies before it got too late. She continued moving stuff from the island to her ship, and soon, she was well on her way.

The next morning, she got up and had a little breakfast, like usual. She was sitting against a wall, facing the back of the ship. Having nothing to do at the moment, she took another look at her hand. The spark was on the left side of the triangle. She decided to look over the right side of the boat, just to see if something happened to be out that way. Finding nothing, she simply leaned against the railing, and took another look at her hand. The spark was at the top.

"Now wait just a second…."

If her guess was on this time, she would never forgive herself for not getting it sooner. Not taking her eyes off of her Triforce, she turned halfway around, to face the other side of the ship. The spark went around to the bottom of the triangle.

"No way…."

She turned the ship so that the spark and front pointed in the same direction. The wind soon followed her in her new course. Pretty soon, she saw a great tower coming up from the horizon.

"Was it really that simple? Was it a compass all along?"

She sailed between two of the pillars of the outer ring around the tower, and the spark started to move down the triangle. When she hit a certain spot in the water, she noticed that lines extended from the spark (now in the middle of the dark triangle) to the vertices of the dark triangle.

"It was a compass." She had no doubts now. "And this must be the Tower of the Gods that these two pieces told me about." She held up her hand, not quite knowing what to expect. The two light triangles glowed and got very, very bright. She then felt her and her ship being sucked down into the water! Further and further and further in to the depths, all the way to the bottom. And at the bottom…she could breathe?

After hitting the bottom, she regained her calm after breathing a little. She looked up at the grand building before her. It was almost as grand as where she had lived for the last sixteen years.

"This must be Old Hyrule Castle. It looks just like the Triforce pieces said it did. I better be careful, though. Last time Father went through here, it was crawling with monsters."

And so, Zelda took the sword, the shield, and as many other pieces of equipment as she could carry. She fought monster after monster, Iron Knuckle after Iron Knuckle, Dark Nut after Dark Nut. After what seemed like almost forever, she finally made it to the place she recognized as Ganondorf's Tower. The only thing challenging about finding her way through the Castle and Tower was that her father had already solved all the puzzles. At least the swords were still pointing in the correct general directions. After she figured out that she had to go down the hole in the room with the torches, she had little problem getting to Ganondorf. She made her way up the last part of the Tower by hookshot and grappling hook. And she found, still petrified, Ganondorf with the legendary Master Sword still stuck in his head.

As she approached, she noted that the Master Sword had the same image in its hilt as she had in her hand – the Triforce. And the back of Ganondorf's right hand was still glowing with the Triforce of Power, never expecting to be moved. Before she did anything, she placed her hand so that Ganondorf's was over hers, just as her parents' hands had been. With a couple of seconds, the triangle on the back of Ganondorf's hand darkened, and she removed her hand to find the top triangle glowing gold. She now had all three pieces of the Triforce to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Back in New Hyrule, Tetra and Link were furious at their daughter's disappearance. Tetra had called together all the racial representatives, hoping for some form of information. The Zora representative said that they had seen a ship sail out of New Hyrule some time ago, but they thought Tetra might be taking it out to reminisce about pirating. After all, Tetra and Link had few secrets from the rest of the people, and Tetra's background was not one of them. Had they known that it was Zelda stealing the ship, the Zoras would have been more than ready to stop her. Though she was the Princess of New Hyrule, Zelda did not have much authority over anyone. The job of Princess seemed to involve mostly paying attention to her parents' dealings and learning how to rule for when the time came.

Tetra knew that Link was familiar with magic, so she asked if he had any method of traveling back in time. A flurry of comedic hand signing and pantomiming seemed to communicate that such a thing existed, and was known as the Ocarina of Time (Tetra's thought: _Ocarina? LOL wut?_), but it was trapped under the sea in Old Hyrule. Tetra could not remember any other historical artifact, found or not, that could control time as well.

While there was slight pandemonium around the government of New Hyrule, Link and Tetra also had a sadness in the backs of their heads. Given what had transpired only a few days before, they knew the only reason Zelda could possibly have for returning to the Great Sea. She was after the Triforce of Power. There was still hope, though. Tetra remembered the part of the legend that if the one who held the Triforce was pure, the land would become a paradise. But, if Zelda decided to abuse the powers of the Triforce, she would become a tyrant over the land. And with the power of the Triforce trapped within Zelda, that reign might never end. They only hoped that they had raised Zelda correctly, and she would make the right choice. She could prove to be better than her parents, or worse than Ganondorf. Day and night, Link and Tetra prayed to the goddesses for the first one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

The Triforce of Power began to react with the other two pieces that Zelda already had. This time, it was just a headache that forced her to her knees as the Triforce of Power related its own memories to its new host. Zelda screamed out because of the pain, and eventually, it subsided. When her head stopped throbbing some thirty seconds later, she looked at the back of her right hand. It looked better with the third triangle filled in. Nothing looked like it was missing.

She then turned her attention to Ganondorf and the Master Sword that was stuck in his head. The Master Sword had all three triangles filled in as well, so she decided to grab the hilt and see what would happen. And even if Ganondorf would un-petrify, what could he do without his power? She walked over to Ganondorf, laid him down so as to make her job easier, and grabbed the Master Sword with her right hand. It pulled free pretty easily, it seemed. The spot in Ganondorf where it had plunged was filled in, and Ganondorf returned to color. He groaned as he rolled over and tried to stand up. He could only manage a sort of crouched sitting position.

"Ugh…what's wrong with me?" he asked through heavy breathing. "Why do I feel so weak? Why can't I stand up?"

"Maybe it's because you've been stone for years," said a female voice in response.

Ganondorf looked to see where the voice came from. What he found was that the only other person on top of the tower with him was a young, beautiful, blond, sixteen-year-old girl. While her explanation of "stone" made sense, as he remembered losing that fight, he checked his hand anyway, to make sure the Triforce of Power was still there. His eyes bugged out of his head when it wasn't.

"Hey, girl, what happened to this triangle?"

"Triangle?" asked Zelda innocently.

"Yes, triangle. The top one used to glow gold, but now, all three are dark."

In response, Zelda put the Master Sword in her left hand, and held up her right so Ganondorf could clearly see the three golden triangles in her hand. Ganondorf's eyes grew wide at the sight. Never before, had he seen all three pieces on the same person. While he was crestfallen that it wasn't his hand they were in, he knew not to challenge it. He knew full well the power of the one who held the complete Triforce. He drew himself up into a genuflecting position, still kind of stiff and weak from the stone.

"I don't know who you are or how you got all those, but I will serve you until the end of time," said Ganondorf.

"Do I really have so much power?" asked Zelda. She was sure she still didn't know the full capabilities of the Triforce.

"If you tell me your name, I will tell you all I know," said Ganondorf, hoping to gain a little information himself.

"My name is Zelda, Princess of New Hyrule. My parents are Tetra, the previous Zelda and a former pirate, and Link, the Hero of Winds." Zelda felt the need to establish herself to someone after going so long without seeing people.

"Zelda…," said Ganondorf, reflecting on the name. "Your father was the one who put that in my face and turned me to stone so many years ago. Your mother helped him. I thought it was over. But you hold all three pieces of the Triforce. For so long, I wanted to hold that. I sought out your father and mother, hoping to extract their pieces. But Link somehow managed to restore the power of the Master Sword, the Sacred Blade you now hold, and defeat me.

"I know a lot about this sword," said Zelda. "It's banished you and your other incarnations time and time again. But, with the amount of power you act like I have and for the fact that you no longer hold the Triforce of Power, you have no choice but to serve me if you want to live."

"For as long as you will have me, I am yours, Princess Zelda," said Ganondorf, reaffirming what he had said before. "Hold that sword in your right hand, and hold it high."

Zelda did as instructed. The Master Sword began to glow as gold as any of the Triforce pieces. The hilt remained the same, but the blade became a cylindrical piece of metal, with all manner of inscriptions and decorations running up and down it.

"Ah, I knew it," said Ganondorf. "I know you'll like this. That is the Sacred Scepter. You now hold more general power than anyone in this world. More than the Goddesses, more than the Mask of Majora, more than anyone. Most would even call you yourself a goddess. Whatever you wish, it shall be granted, is what all the legends of the Triforce promise."

"Anything, huh?" asked Zelda. She was liking this Triforce thing more and more. "Right now, I want out of here and back on my ship above the sea. You, too, Ganondorf, since you serve me."

And so, the two of them were teleported off of the Tower and back onto the Great Sea, ship and all.

"The wind shall blow in the direction of New Hyrule, so that we may return swiftly."

And it was only a matter of days until they were back in New Hyrule.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Zelda walked into the Castle, followed by Ganondorf.

"Mother, Father, I'm home!" she yelled. Immediately, Link and Tetra came running to the Castle entrance. They were almost crying from the happiness they felt on hearing young Zelda's voice again. But as they found her, they also found the dark, shadowy person behind her. Their looks turned to disappointment and fear.

Link recognized Ganondorf immediately. Link gave a short yelp, and charged Ganondorf, anger in Link's eyes. Zelda held out the Sacred Scepter and said, "Father do not attack him. He's harmless." The only thing happy about this was the fact that Zelda was no longer speaking in monotone.

"Harmless?" asked Tetra, "He tried to kill me and your father years ago! Don't you know that from all those Triforce memories?"

"Yes, I know," replied Zelda calmly, "And he won't try it again. He serves me, now." With the word "me," she held up her right hand, revealing the last piece of the Triforce.

Link and Tetra stared in total disbelief at how far out Zelda had gone into the Great Sea. Link soon recognized what Zelda was holding, and pantomimed a question to her.

"Yes, Father, it used to be the Master Sword. It turned into this when I held it up. I can now guarantee that my reign will be peaceful.

"Now, here's what happened: I went out to find the last Triforce piece for two reasons: One, I cannot deal with such incompleteness. Two, the Triforce itself led me to the final piece. The darkened triangle acted as a compass, using a small spark to point me in the right direction. I found Ganondorf, took his piece, and became curious about the sword in his head. Pulling it out may have released him, but I have the power. He has sworn to serve me for as long as I will have him. And with the power I'm told I have, he'll keep his word. Also, with the power I'm told I have, his servitude could last a while. So, I brought him back with me, and he will be among my attendants until I take your place. When I take your place, he will be the head of my bodyguards. So as I said, he's harmless."

"Zelda, honey, listen," said Tetra. "All of the Ganondorfs throughout Hylian history have been nothing but trouble to the Zeldas. Always trying to get the Triforce pieces, they were. Now you have all three, and you're keeping him as close as possible. You're not thinking right."

"On the contrary," Ganondorf replied, "everything young Zelda has told you is true. I serve her now. I have no reason to collect the Triforce, now that my piece is gone. I will be faithful and loyal to the young Princess until the end of my days." And he knelt before the three of them. Something inside Link and Tetra made them believe him, but no one was quite sure what. So, believe Ganondorf, they did, but trust him, they did not.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Kekuta woke up that morning to shoutings outside his window. The source of the shoutings was his girlfriend, Maria. Still kind of sleepy, Kekuta had no idea what she was on about. But it must have been important, because she didn't act this excited often. It sounded like something about Zelda, a town, and a terrorist.

"KEKUTA! WAKE UP! THE PRINCESS HAS ATTACKED A TOWN!"

He heard it. Clearly. He took a few seconds to put it together. Then, just coherent enough, he returned, "Doesn't surprise me. It was bound to happen sooner or later." And he left the window and went back to bed to sleep for a couple more hours.

"KEKUTA! THIS IS IMPORTANT! SHE'S NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!"

Kekuta got out of bed again and went back to the window. "Give me a few minutes."

He got dressed, only after making sure Maria didn't have a view of the event, went and got a little something to eat, and invited her in, offering her something to eat as well. While pouring Maria some coffee, Kekuta asked, "Now, then, what is it you want to tell me?" He handed her the cup.

"Princess Zelda has attacked the town of Erowp. Why do you think that is?"

Still calm at the destruction of a town, Kekuta responded, "Obviously, there was something or someone there she didn't like. As a girl, she probably tried to settle the matter peacefully first, and then destroyed them. The 'peaceful' method must not have worked."

"You said, 'destroyed'," Maria pointed out. "That's still going on, if you'd like to watch." Her tone of voice sounded like she was annoyed or disturbed by Kekuta's calmness. "Right now, the town's burning to the ground, and Princess Zelda is guarding it like her life depends on it. In fact, she _is_ guarding it with her life! She's out there, right now! Go see!"

Kekuta got up and grabbed a jacket. "You coming?" He grabbed a knife.

"Yeah, sure. Just in case you get yourself killed." Maria showed her equipment.

It wasn't far to Erowp. Kekuta and Maria lived on the edge of their town, Meho. About fifteen minutes later, they had a decent view of the blaze. Sure enough, Princess Zelda was floating above it, getting an incredible view over everything. Several villagers from all over New Hyrule, including a couple of Gorons and a few Zoras, were laying dead around the outskirts of the village. Obviously, the defense attempt had failed.

Deciding not to care about the consequences, Kekuta yelled up at Zelda, "Nice work, Your Majesty! I've never seen a fire so efficient and controlled before!"

Zelda shot a look in his direction. Then, she raised the Sacred Scepter in the air, and the back of her right hand glowed. Energy gathered on the end of the Sacred Scepter. Kekuta squinted through the light to see what was glowing. And what caught his eye amazed him. It looked…familiar….

"Look out!" yelled Maria. She pushed him out of the way, flying in the other direction herself. The energy ball flew between them, making a small crater-like hole in the ground.

Kekuta turned back to Zelda. "Fine! We'll leave you alone!"

Maria looked over to Kekuta, who was recovering from falling down. "Are you crazy!? Don't just stand there! Run!"

And they did. They started running side-by-side, fleeing for their lives from Zelda. "Duck," said Kekuta as he pushed Maria down, and dove to the ground himself. Another energy ball whizzed above them, hitting the ground in front of them. They scrambled to their feet, shielding their eyes from the impact's debris, running faster than either of them had before. No more energy balls flew their way, for the moment. They made it back to Meho, out of breath. They made their way back to Kekuta's house, and dropped to the floor, panting.

"Why…did you…have to…say…something?" asked Maria through her breaths.

"I…didn't know…she…was on…her…period…," Kekuta responded with what sounded like a small laugh.

"Not funny," commented Maria.

"Did you see…the back of her…hand?" asked Kekuta, regaining his breath.

"No," answered Maria. "What about it?"

"It reminded me of mine." Kekuta's breath had returned. He sat up and examined the back of his left hand: three triangles, upside-down, outlined in a color darker than the rest of his skin. And the middle of was filled in with black. It was the strangest birthmark anyone in New Hyrule had ever seen.

"I couldn't see exactly what it was. But it was triangular, that's for sure." Maria had no idea what Kekuta was on about. And Kekuta wanted to know more, but wasn't sure how to go about learning it. So, he resigned himself to go about his business until he could find a way to find the answers he was looking for.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Apparently, news traveled quickly around Meho. By the next day, word had gotten to Kekuta's friends that he and Maria had almost been killed by Princess Zelda. The word had reached most of the other townsfolk, too. Particularly, the stay-at-home wives and the most popular businessmen. Kekuta was bombarded by his friends with questions of his encounter with Zelda. He'd asked several times to stop. He'd also asked them several times where they'd heard that Zelda almost killed him and his girlfriend. When they wouldn't stop asking him questions, he resigned himself to his house, never leaving except to purchase more food. When he went grocery shopping, he used every ounce of willpower to ignore everyone.

After about a week, he heard a knock on his door.

"Who's there?" asked Kekuta, hoping that the tone of voice would make the person go away. Even if it was Maria, who he hadn't seen since he shut himself in. He hadn't even talked to her.

"The village idiot," was the reply from the door. It was a masculine voice. It sounded familiar to Kekuta.

"Nope," Kekuta retorted. "This is a town, and everyone's an idiot."

Ignoring this, the voice continued, "I have information you may want."

"Regarding…?" Kekuta was almost motivated enough to open the door.

"Your hand. And maybe that of the Princess, as well." Kekuta had to know who this voice was, now. He opened the door. The Swordmaker of Meho stood in the doorway.

"I thought it might be you," said Kekuta. "What information do you hold?"

"I once lived in Erowp, you know. I knew the town and its stories inside and out, backwards and forwards. You should hear a couple of them." The Swordmaker had a serious look on his face, like the stories meant anything.

"I'll listen," concluded Kekuta. "At least these might be nice to think about while I'm here. Come on in and sit down. I'll get you something to drink."

The Swordmaker walked in and found a chair. Kekuta walked into the kitchen and brought out a couple of sodas. He was young, about 20, and the people considered him unable to handle hard drinks. So, he provided what he could.

"Okay, so here's what I've heard," said the Swordmaker, once Kekuta had sat down. "There was a fellow in Erowp, a generation older than me, who was always frail and sickly. Anyway, he had the strangest marking on his body. It looked like an infection, but no infection looks like a triangle. So, he's got this red triangle on the back of his left hand. He was always tellin' the story of how he got it. Apparently, some sick old guy before him had it, and passed it on to the current guy somehow. I'd say magic, except that you and I both know that no such thing exists-"

"Actually, sir, I've been having second thoughts about that," Kekuta interjected. Mostly, he was thinking about his hand and Zelda's and the similarities. Plus, if this old guy had the same marking, it must mean something.

"Don't interrupt me, boy. I lose my place easily. Now, then, the old guy, right? Okay. Anyway, he never left his house for anything. And I mean **anything**. He had a nice little girl that did his shopping for him, and he paid her, too, somehow. She continued for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't be surprised if she still helped him when she grew into a young woman. Anyway, the old man thought it was too dangerous to leave the house. He feared the Princess for some reason. From the stories I've heard about you, I'd say he was wiser than most of us New Hylians. His story gets even weirder. He said that sometimes, the back of his hand hurt. People started to note that he only said this when Princess Zelda was around, when she made her rounds to the regions that the Representatives account for. She seems to be a lot stricter than her parents were. He always said that the Princess' hand hurt, too, because he said he'd see her holding her right hand in a grip like it was going to fall off. She'd study it for minutes on end before moving along. He also said that that stick never left her hand, so I'd guess that her scepter's some kind of really important object. I can't think of anything else special about that town, so I'd say that the Princess was hopin' to get him in the fire. And to be honest, I don't think anyone survived that blaze. I saw it myself, keeping my distance, of course. Somethin' you should try in the future. He also always said something about god-powers or something whenever he'd mention the triangle."

"Like, he had god-like powers, or that he was some kind of vessel for them?" Kekuta's interest was definitely piqued. He was sitting forward in his chair, staring into eye contact and everything.

"I dunno. But he was definitely some kind of character of note, I'll tell you that. I know of your hand's markings. Seems like you've got three or four triangles, depending on point of view, huh?"

"I've always thought one, but I guess I could see three and four as well."

"Well," said the Swordmaker, "If you want to explore the Ewrop ruins and see what you can find, I'll make you some equipment free of charge: A steel sword and basic shield. I can have them ready for you in a week from your agreement."

Kekuta was somewhat surprised by the Swordmaker's offer. "If you're offerin', sir, I'll take it. As soon as possible alright?"

"A week, Kekuta. Just deal with people until then, okay. You seemed interested in my stories. Try to associate with others again over the next week. I think you'll feel more complete. I always love company."

"I'll give it a shot if you start on my sword and shield right away," said Kekuta.

And the deal was struck.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

While waiting the next week for his equipment, Kekuta tried to explain to his friends that he knew as much about the attack as they did. This quieted them down a little, but the questions stopped altogether when Kekuta got the bright idea to suggest that his friends go see Princess Zelda herself and ask her about it. Everyone knew that the Princess had a great power that no one could stand up to. Why anyone ever tried was beyond any who lived. No one would dare question anything she'd do that looked at all objectionable. In fact, no one questioned Zelda's actions at all.

Two days before he received his sword and shield, Kekuta decided to go to Maria's place and see how she was doing. He still hadn't seen her since he shut himself in. She'd tried to talk to him a couple of times, but seemed to have given up. She resigned to give one-word answers during their conversation. The conversation went something like this:

"Hello, Maria."

"Hi."

"You holdin' up alright?"

"Yeah."

"Something bothering you?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"I'm leaving in a couple days, you know. I'm hoping to find answers to a few questions I have."

"'kay."

"Is there nothing you want to talk about?"

"No."

"Okay, then. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

And that seemed to be how that story ended.

Over the next couple of days, Kekuta mentally prepared to find the answers he was looking for. He had a feeling that this journey might be longer than just to Erowp and back. On the agreed-upon day, he went to the Swordmaker's and got the promised weapon and defense.

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I may need it."

"To find what you're after? Yeah, you will. See you again soon."

"See ya. Thanks, Swordmaker."

"Anytime, friend."

And Kekuta set off for Erowp. Okay, so it still wasn't that far away, but monsters had sprouted up all around the ashes of the former town.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

It took Kekuta at least twice as long as usual to get to Erowp. The monsters that had sprouted up were proving to be a match for the Swordmaker's blade. And the shield was certainly coming in handy more often than Kekuta thought it would. Usually, he fixed the shield to his back so that it would protect the back of his head as well, which worked nicely. But he still wished he had some more equipment. It might make the fights easier.

Over by where the Weapons shop used to be, Kekuta's eye caught something. A metal bow, finished except for decoration, was lying on the ground, very dirtied by the ashes of the recent fire. And with it were three metal arrows. Kekuta had heard of the Metal Bow and Metal Arrows. The Metalworker who made them was legendary across New Hyrule. His bows never broke, his strings never snapped, and his arrows never warped. They were truly quality pieces. And getting him to make such high-quality equipment was a task in itself. Just the bow would set one back a king's ransom. Of course, the arrows were quite a bit as well, though not nearly as costly as the bow. The bow was the costly part because it was functional on its own, and could be used with any arrows, as bows tended to be. The Metal Arrows were not so costly because only the Metal Bow could handle them. The Metal Arrows' fletchings would tear any normal bow to shreds because they were so thin and sharp-edged. So naturally, Kekuta decided to bring them with him. A little washing in a river or Lake Hylia would take care of the dirt and ashes on the treasures.

He kept looking through the town, hoping to find more useful items that could be salvaged. Unfortunately, he found none. When he was done with that, he started looking for remnants of the Old Man's house and living space, hoping to find some indication that he might have survived, if he did indeed exist at all. He kept walking around the floor of the former house, floor creaking as he walked. But something was wrong. The floor kept creaking in the same spot. Kekuta decided to take a couple of slashes at it with his sword. Half-surprisingly, it opened up fairly easily. A small part of the floor collapsed, letting a small ash cloud rise into the air. "Hello?" Kekuta said into the darkness.

"He…hello…," answered a labored voice.

"Hello?" repeated Kekuta, "Who are you?"

"I am weak," replied the voice.

"What is your name?" Kekuta said, using less-confusable sounds.

"I don't know. I forgot long ago. Come down here. I need to know who will see me die." The voice sounded elderly. Kekuta jumped down quickly, hoping to find who he was looking for.

"See you die?" asked Kekuta. Then he looked at the figure from which the voice had come. An old man with a long, white beard lay in a heap before Kekuta. Intrigued, Kekuta asked, "Are you the old man who's supposed to have some kind of big power or something?"

"Power? Oh, goddesses, no! I'm the most frail and sickly person you'll ever meet. But come closer. Let me see the back of your hand."

Obediently, Kekuta stepped forward, and held out his left hand, the one with the triangles on it. The old man took one look and seemed to get some energy back.

"Ho ho! It's really you! I thought you might be the one I was hoping to meet. I could feel the Black Triangle when you were outside! It's dangerous to go outside. Take this." And with those words, the Old Man encased Kekuta's hand in his. A shock of pain shot through Kekuta's arm and body. He dropped his sword, unable to hold it. When the pain subsided, Kekuta fell to the ground under his own weight.

"AAGH! What the hell, old man! You tell me it's dangerous out there, and now I can barely stand! What the hell did you just do!?"

"I have given you a piece to the puzzle. Look at your hand." The Old Man's health seemed to be recovering by the second. Kekuta looked at his hand. The bottom triangle was filled in in red. "That is the Red Weakness," explained the Old Man. "It is the opposite of the Princess' Power. You know the legend of the Triforce, no doubt?"

"Yeah," replied Kekuta, "Who doesn't?"

"Then there's no need to explain, except for this," said the Old Man. "You know how there are three pieces to the Triforce: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The Black Triangle is the center of the Three Reds: Weakness, Ignorance, and Cowardice. These will nullify the powers of the Triforce, and will allow you to bring the Princess' most evil reign to an end. And only you can do it, young man. Oh, and by the way, your hand will start to hurt very subtly in close proximity to the Triforce. For now, run when the Princess is near. She will destroy you as you are."

"So, where do I find the other two pieces to complete my triangle?" asked Kekuta, hoping that this Old Man really did know everything.

"I can't tell you that anymore. But you should feel the pull from your hand, should you not?"

Kekuta concentrated for a moment. "Hey, you know what? I think you're right."

"Then pick a direction and stick with it," said the Old Man, as he sent Kekuta on his way.

"Thanks a lot, man! I am never gonna forget you for this!" Kekuta practically ran off to find his next destination.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….**

Once he found a place to concentrate, Kekuta focused on the pulls from the other two Reds. He looked in the approximate directions that they came from. One came from a direction where nothing seemed to be. The location must have been very far away. The other one, however, seemed to lead him back to Meho.

He decided to go in the direction of nowhere, not wanting to deal with the people of Meho again so soon. He needed some time to himself. He needed to think about what he was doing. If he could counterbalance the Triforce, then what did the Power of the Gods mean? Sure, Zelda had gotten out of hand, but was she really doing anything evil? After all, the Sacred Scepter and the Triforce effectively gave her god-like powers. But how powerful is a god with a weakness?

Thoughts of this type plagued Kekuta's mind as he made his way across New Hyrule.

He made less progress per day than he would have liked. The Weakness was really taking a toll. Kekuta eventually decided to make some time every day to work out and get back to his original strength. It seemed to work. He could still get stronger. Given this, he started to see the Weakness as nothing more than a minor setback.

He eventually found himself in the village of Kakariko (yes, named for the same village of Old Hyrule).

Kekuta entered the village and spent the night at an inn. The direction of the pull had become more and more specific as he got near the village. But, he decided that it would be in his best interest to sleep and regain his stamina before hunting down whoever had the next Red.

He woke up the next morning in a somewhat uncomfortable position. After readjusting himself, something caught his ear. Someone was asking about him at the front desk. Kekuta didn't know anyone with a voice that deep, so he crept out of his room for a moment, so as to not alert whoever it was to his presence. He couldn't believe what he saw.

A very dark-skinned man was standing at the desk. But for his dark skin, he had flaming red hair with a matching beard. And his clothes were all black, too. On either side of the man's belt was a sword of respectable length. Kekuta never thought he would see this man, no matter how many rumors he heard. This dark-skinned man had to be none other than Zelda's top bodyguard. This was the legendary Ganondorf.

"Ma'am, have you seen anyone with a red triangle on the back of his hand?"

"Yes," replied the innkeeper, "but he's not from here. He just stayed the night. Or are you talking about the kid who actually lives in the village?"

"There's two?" It sounded like Ganondorf didn't believe the innkeeper. "Uh…I'm not sure which one I'm looking for. The Princess just told me to come here and arrest the one with the triangle. If one's traveling around, I should probably take him into custody first. I'll just have to check everyone one by one as they check out. I see no other way. I apologize for any inconvenience that I may cause you."

Kekuta did not want to believe what he just heard. Nothing about this situation seemed real. It seemed like one big nightmare, and Kekuta should still be asleep. This was madness. This meant that Zelda knew about the Three Reds and did not want to be interfered with. She was actively hunting them down. It would explain the recent attack on Erowp.

Kekuta decided that it would be better to sneak out the window. He didn't care that he owed the innkeeper for the night. If he made it back alive, he'd repay her double with work. For the moment, he went back into his room. After carefully making sure he had everything – sword, shield, Metal Bow, Metal Arrows, and other possessions – he quietly made his way out the window.

Or at least, he _tried_ to make it out the window quietly. Falling a story isn't much, but it hurts and makes sound. Kekuta stood up and tried to run. He couldn't go as fast as usual though, thanks to the Weakness and all his equipment. He heard the door to the inn slam open. He looked behind himself. Ganondorf was standing there.

"You, there!" Ganondorf pointed to Kekuta. "Why did you just jump out the window? Is there any particular reason you will not pay the innkeeper? Get back here now and pay your debt!"

"I-I didn't stay the night," said Kekuta. "I dropped by this morning to visit a friend who was in town. But an awkward situation came up, so I had to leave as inconspicuously as possible. That means, not through the front door."

Kekuta heard some shouting from inside the door. Then, Ganondorf said, "Nice try. The innkeeper saw you through the window before I did. She recognized you from last night, from when you checked in. Next time you jump, try not making it obvious. Now, pay your bill or I'll have to take you into custody. And I'm already on a different assignment at the moment, so I want as little trouble as possible from you."

The nervousness in Kekuta's face was far too obvious. He slunk back to the inn and started to pay his debt. As he pulled his had from his pocket, the Black Triangle caught Ganondorf's eye. Kekuta heard the sound of swords being drawn behind him. He quickly positioned his shield to protect himself. After he got an opportunity, he took out his sword and shield properly, ready to defend himself.

"Boy," started Ganondorf, "You have a triangle on the back of your hand. By the direct order of Princess Zelda, I am to place you under arrest and take you directly to the Princess."

"Not happening. At least, not unless you're better than me." Kekuta was feeling confident with good reason, too. With all his working out, the sword felt not-so-heavy. He truly felt that he could at least force Ganondorf to surrender.

They were about to have at each other when they heard, "HEY! Take it outside. I will not have this foyer ruined."

"Yes, ma'am," responded Ganondorf, respecting the innkeeper's wish. "Come, boy."

"My name's Kekuta," stated the boy.

Ganondorf chuckled. "Very well, then. Come, Kekuta. We shall settle this outside."

The two of them took a couple of places outside and made sure no one was around.

"Kekuta, you should know that the only reason I'm doing this is because I haven't had a good swordfight in forever. Living under the rule of the Princess is not a life I chose. It is only better than death. That is the only reason I will not defy her. Nevertheless, I will defeat you in combat and take you into custody as per my orders."

"Man, I haven't even had breakfast yet. You call this a 'good' swordfight?"

"If you would come quietly, I could get you anything you want to eat while I take you to the Princess."

"I'll have to reject your oh-so-cordial offer on the basis that there's no way in hell you're taking me to see the Princess." Kekuta's adrenaline was starting to make up for the fact that he didn't eat breakfast.

The two of them started to clash swords. Kekuta's hunger kept growing as the battle raged on, but he was able to ignore it. His evasive maneuvers had gotten quite good in New Hyrule Field. He eventually found himself behind Ganondorf – right where he wanted to be. He brought his sword across the front of Ganondorf's throat, holding the end of the blade steady with his other hand.

"I don't want to kill anyone, but if you make me…," Kekuta really did not want to be in this position. And to top it off, he felt that he'd never been hungrier.

"Would you really kill the Princess' top bodyguard, Kekuta? You know that the Princess would send forces ten times as terrible as me after you."

"It's not fear of the Princess, Ganondorf. If I kill another man, I won't feel deserving of my own life. And I'm sure you're quite fond of yours, right?"

"This is preferable to what the Princess' father did to me years ago. At least you're willing to let me go."

"Are you going to leave and report your failure to the Princess?"

"I will. But be forewarned of the greater danger you will be in."

"I'll keep it in mind."

As Kekuta finished speaking, a voice came from nowhere:

"Ganondorf, you disappoint me. There's a reason you are my top bodyguard, the head of my military force. You were supposed to be excellent in combat. Yet you consider yourself to have lost to this boy? Get back here. I'm going to punish you more severely than ever before."

"Princess, please have mercy! I know exactly where I went wrong, and could explain it and rectify it."

"You better be able to. However, you do realize that this will have only minimal effect on the severity of your penalty."

"I do."

"Then get back here."

And Ganondorf vanished from Kakariko. Kekuta could only guess at what awaited Ganondorf. Kekuta almost felt sorry for the man. As he stood there, a small boy, probably about 6 or 7 years old, tried to get Kekuta's attention.

"You're really good with your sword."

"Thanks."

"I have some swords. Wanna see? You can even keep the ones you like."

"Okay. Fine." Kekuta figured that this kid couldn't possibly wield a real sword, let alone own one.

They got to the kid's house in a few minutes. The kid also convinced his mom to allow Kekuta to have some food. Kekuta gladly accepted. Afterwards, the kid led Kekuta to his room. The kid pulled out a bunch of drawings of swords. Apparently, the kid had created his own sword designs, and hoped Kekuta would be interested in some of them.

"Some of these aren't half bad," said Kekuta, "but why does this one have this marking on the paper?"

"I drew that one in my sleep. I call it the Akaiha. I went to sleep one night after I had had no ideas all day. I woke up the next morning with that in my hand. It's the best drawing, too."

"It definitely is," remarked Kekuta. The Akaiha's drawing had a silver, extremely ornate handle, with all manner of small designs everywhere. The blade itself was blood-red. But what caught Kekuta's eye was the red triangle in the center of the Akaiha's handle. It was a red triangle with a black one inside, very similar to the one Kekuta had on the back of his hand.

"Hey, kid, may I see the back of your hand?" Kekuta was making a guess.

"Sure. Not much is special, though. I just have this weird birthmark." Sure enough, Kekuta saw a red triangle on the back of the kid's hand. Kekuta brought out his own hand, and had the kid put his hands around it, just like the Old Man did. Sure enough, another red triangle lit up on the back of Kekuta's hand.

"Kid, you are so in luck. Gather these drawings, and I'll take you to a swordmaker who's a friend of mine. He lives in the town of Meho, where I'm from. He'll surely take you under his wing. Some of these concepts are pure genius, and they're generally very beautiful."

"I'd take you up on your offer, Kekuta, but I can't learn anything. I could never retain anything in school. I can't even read. I can only do this."

Kekuta figured out which of the Three Reds he'd just obtained. He had just received Ignorance, no doubt to counteract the Triforce of Wisdom. "You'll be able to pick this up. I don't want to elaborate, but basically, I just took away your learning impediment. You'll become a master swordsmith. I'm sure of it. Come with me. I was headed back to Meho anyway."

After getting permission from the kid's mother, the two of them left for Meho. However, Kekuta was still wondering who in Meho could possibly have the last of the Three Reds.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I did some checking, and it would appear that I might have to hand Nintendo rights to everything in this story. But legal issues surrounding fan-made stories are incredibly complicated, so I'll have to find someone who can easily explain it to me. For now, I think I just don't own any concept in this story that's specific to The Legend of Zelda.**

Kekuta continued working out while going back to Meho, and the kid who formerly held Ignorance would usually join in. Sometimes, though, the kid had a great sword design in his head and he had to get it down before he would forget. There wasn't much conversation between the two of them, but one thing was on Kekuta's mind.

"So," Kekuta started, hoping to start some deep conversation ,"if you couldn't learn while under the influence of Ignorance, how come you can speak and walk and such? Such things are usually learned behaviors."

The kid didn't really think anything of the question, and answered honestly. "I don't know, actually. Much like the sword drawings, I just…kind of…picked it up. It came naturally. I've been able to do anything I can for as long as I can remember."

"Fascinating," remarked Kekuta. "I've been trying to figure out the handicaps that these 'powers' give me. Weakness sapped a good bit of my strength, so that's why I've been working out. I think I'm actually stronger now than before I got Weakness. Anyway, it would seem, from what you've told me, that Ignorance saps learning ability. I'm not sure what kind of role that might play in my journey. All I know is that I'm on a mission to stop Zelda's evil reign, so-"

"Oh, so _that's_ her name." The kid cut off Kekuta. "I could never remember the name of our ruler. But Zelda is the name I've been hearing a lot. Is she really the one I've been hearing all the bad things about?"

"Probably," said Kekuta. "Anything else might be things that she sent her military to take care of."

"She's really that bad?" The kid really did have a want to learn, now that he was able to do so.

"Oh, yes," said Kekuta, indulging the boy. He proceeded to relate to the kid all that he knew of the Princess. The boy sat and listened for hours. Eventually, though, they had to hunt down some dinner. And they did just that. After eating, they set up camp and went to sleep, knowing that the day to come would be the day they get to Meho.

The next day, they packed up and made their way back to Meho. As they walked into town, The Swordmaker came out to greet them.

"Kekuta! It's been a while! Where've you been?"

"Y'know…around…," Kekuta really had some business to get to.

"You'll have to tell me later. For now, I take it your trip was productive? You've been gone for some days."

"Yeah. It's been very productive. I'll tell you later. First, I'd like to introduce you to this boy. He had some valuable information for me, and is completely cut out to be a swordsmith, like you." Kekuta turned to the kid.

"And what's your name?" asked the Swordmaker.

"I'm Nomesotsu. I'm not much physically at the moment, but according to Kekuta, I've got some great ideas that you could consider making." Nomesotsu wasn't sure where the profession might lead, but he knew he'd feel fulfilled making swords. He could definitely have as much fun playing with them as he would making them.

"Well, Nomesotsu, I'll be happy to see what you have. Why don't the two of you come inside. I'll get you something to drink."

Kekuta had a weird feeling inside. He had a tingle in his hand. The intensity of the tingle varied with the distance from the Swordmaker. Kekuta was a smart boy, despite the Red Ignorance. He figured that the Swordmaker must have the last of the Three Reds. There was no other explanation for this odd sensation. Kekuta and Nomesotsu took up the Swordmaker's offer rather eagerly. The three of them went inside the Swordmaker's house.

Kekuta proceeded to relate to the Swordmaker all that he'd experienced over the last few days as he was wandering New Hyrule. The Swordmaker listened with quiet attention, never interrupting, except to refill drinks. At Kekuta's prompts, Nomesotsu produced sword drawings, which the Swordmaker gave great attention to. He looked over them approvingly.

"The strangest one, I think, is this one," said Kekuta, pulling out the drawing of the Akaiha. Nomesotsu proceeded to tell how the drawing came into being. This gave Kekuta a small break while the Swordmaker and Nomesotsu engaged in conversation.

When the two of them finished speaking, Kekuta spoke again. "Swordmaker, forgive me if this is a bit personal, but-" Kekuta held up his hand "-would you happen to have the last part to this? I keep getting this 'feeling' that you do, if you know what I mean."

The Swordmaker sighed. "Yes. Yes, I would. And you can have it. I was never sure when you might be ready to stop the evil reign of the Princess. She's always seemed so powerful, and I've been afraid for your life, Kekuta. I actually hoped that you'd never have to face this fate one day, but I guess you've proven yourself by finding the other two Reds yourself. Yes, I have the Red Cowardice. And I'll be happy to give it to you, if you promise to carefully protect your life in the future. I don't want you ending up like that resistance attempt at Erowp."

"Yes, sir. I'm quite fond of my life, as you probably know." Kekuta was getting a little bit of adrenaline from the fact that he was about to complete his puzzle.

"Okay, then," said the Swordmaker with a chuckle, "Take this." He handed Kekuta the drawing of the Akaiha, which quickly found its way into Kekuta's pocket. The Swordmaker removed one of his gloves, which was the first time Kekuta ever saw either of the Swordmaker's hands bare. The Swordmaker's hands encompassed Kekuta's, and in a few seconds, Kekuta had the last of the Three Reds, and in the center, the Black Triangle.

Kekuta felt something weird in his pocket once he had the last Red. He took out the drawing of the Akaiha. Once it had enough room, it started to fold and shape itself into what started to look like a sword hilt. It formed itself, then flashed and turned to metal. The Swordmaker guessed what was coming next, and he got Nomesotsu out of the way just in time for the red blade of the Akaiha to shoot forth from the end of the hilt. The sudden change in weight was too much to immediately adapt to, and the sword fell to the floor, followed shortly by Kekuta.

"Heh heh. Once you get that under control, you should definitely be able to stop the Princess' evil reign." The Swordmaker and Nomesotsu were about two seconds away from laughing nigh-uncontrollably at Kekuta.

Kekuta looked up at the Swordmaker. "Are you sure? I've seen her power. I don't think I'll even be able to get close."

"You'll be fine. You have the Power of the Three Reds. There's no reason to fear the Triforce. You've got the only known way to counter it."

Kekuta struggled to stand up with the extremely heavy Akaiha. As he tried to pull it up, he gripped the handle very tightly. Suddenly, the blade became weightless and looked like glowing red energy. Again, the sudden change in weight caught Kekuta off guard. But when he finally got it up, he relaxed his grip. The red blade became solid again and fell back down to the ground. "Aw, man! How am I supposed to stop the Princess if this thing keeps changing its weight on me?"

"Think harder," said the Swordmaker, who was a very keen observer. "When you were trying to pull it up before, you were gripping the handle very hard with your left hand, the one with the Three Reds on it. Try it again."

Kekuta gripped the Akaiha as hard as he could with his left hand. The blade turned into the red energy again. He relaxed his grip, and it was solid again. It took him a few more tries to put two and two together, but he eventually got the hang of his grip being the key to changing the blade.

"I think you can do it," said the Swordmaker with a smile. "You look ready."

"I'm not sure," replied Kekuta. "I've seen the Princess' power. If I'm not careful, she'll destroy me and leave nothing behind."

"She won't. You were chosen to stop her evil reign. You can do away with the source of her power. I have faith in you."

"Okay," said Kekuta. "I'll give it a shot."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I did some checking, and it would appear that I might have to hand Nintendo rights to everything in this story. But legal issues surrounding fan-made stories are incredibly complicated, so I'll have to find someone who can easily explain it to me. For now, I think I just don't own any concept in this story that's specific to The Legend of Zelda. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.**

Zelda's right hand was trembling quite noticeably. For one thing, it was making the Sacred Scepter vibrate wildly in the air. For another, she was clearly irritated that it wouldn't stop.

"Damn," she spat. "How could he actually have done it? There's no way the goddesses would let their Sacred Power be in this much danger!"

Ganondorf approached her. "Lady Zelda, if I may make a suggestion, there is a part of the Triforce Legend that I try not to think about."

Zelda glared at him. "Well, what is it? I mean, I probably know about it already. Just tell me what's on your mind."

"Well," began Ganondorf, "You know that the world was created such that it related to the attributes of the three goddesses, right?"

"Yeah. So?" Zelda hoped he had a point. And she hoped it would make her feel better. The twitching hand was really getting on her nerves.

"The other half of that legend is that when the Triforce was created on the goddesses' departure, the Black Triangle and Three Reds were created in a Dark World. As of yet, I have never seen even a hint of a way to get into this Dark World, but obviously this legend has some merit to it. As I told you before, Princess, everything in the world is balanced, just like the goddesses."

The statements intrigued Zelda. Was there no end to Ganondorf's knowledge of the Triforce? He always proved right when he spoke of it. Hell, if he wasn't their enemy, Ganondorf might qualify for a position among the Sages.

"If I may go on, Princess, I believe that some major reaction is causing that twitch that irks you so." Ganondorf was sincerely hoping to not get onto the Princess' bad side today. He would help in every way he could, even if it was just to protect himself from her power.

"I know that, Ganondorf," replied Zelda coldly. "I can feel things that I couldn't feel before. They're not my feelings, but they're not general feelings, either. They're feelings of a certain individual. And that individual is the one with the Black Triangle and Three Reds, as I can feel that, too. But what the source of such a threatening feeling of power could be, I don't know."

"Would you like me to hypothesize, Princess?"

"Please. It may help, and talking with you certainly keeps my mind off of matters like this irritating twitch."

"Everything in this world is balanced. Remember, not only do you have the Triforce, you also have a transformed version of the Master Sword. There must be a sword out there that counteracts the sacred power of the Master Sword. However, I regret to inform you that I have never heard of any such sword." Ganondorf had a feeling that he shouldn't have made that last comment, but he decided to try it nonetheless.

"That makes sense, Ganondorf. Thank you. In any case, whatever new power he has, he intends to bring it here and confront me with it. You and I must work together to stop him. Should we be able to detain him, I will charge him with treason and have him executed. That's what this all boils down to, really. Treason, that is." Certainly, Zelda's mind was as far away as possible from her twitch, now.

Gaonondorf spoke up again. "Princess, may I ask a question that might qualify as somewhat personal?"

"Sure," says Zelda. "It's been interesting talking to you so far. But I reserve the right to refuse to answer for any reason."

"Fair enough. My question is this: why do you guard the Sacred Scepter so closely? I don't think I've seen you put it down since the Master Sword transformed." Ganondorf really tried not to tread sensitive ground.

"An interesting question, and one I'm willing to answer." Zelda looked at the Sacred Scepter, which had settled down a little. "You've never seen me put it down because I haven't put it down. In fact, I can't put it down. The Triforce won't let me. But I wanted that. The Sacred Scepter is what's keeping the Triforce inside me, instead of dispelling it after a single wish. Why would I ever put it down?"

"Ah. An interesting explanation." Ganondorf was happy to have gotten to know a little more about the Princess. She mostly kept to herself because she was busy keeping tabs on everyone and everything in New Hyrule. But he knew that this girl couldn't last forever. Even he saw something in the way she used the goddesses' power that he saw as "wrong." He was almost sad that he would probably witness the imminent fight. "Thank you for answering such a question. Shall I leave you so that we may both go about our business?"

"No," said Zelda, "Stay here. Even if there's silence, I'd enjoy the company for the moment. Besides, there's no telling when the Three Reds will show up."

"As you wish, Princess." Ganondorf took a seat next to the Princess' throne.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I did some checking, and it would appear that I might have to hand Nintendo rights to everything in this story. But legal issues surrounding fan-made stories are incredibly complicated, so I'll have to find someone who can easily explain it to me. For now, I think I just don't own any concept in this story that's specific to The Legend of Zelda. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.**

Kekuta left Meho in the direction of the coastline, where the Castle was. He'd been there before. It may only take him a couple of days on foot, if he didn't run into any serious complications. The monsters had quieted down to an almost eerie level of silence. Just in case he came up against anything really big, though, he still worked out every day. He'd also taken up dual-wielding the Akaiha and the Metal Bow. The Metal Bow had some sharp edges that would definitely hurt. The Akaiha was just an all-around great sword. He'd come up with a few moves, but they were based more or less on controlled flailing.

Hunting even proved difficult, given how scarce everything seemed to be. Kekuta managed to try an octorok one night, but quickly found that there was no way he could eat it. He wondered if they'd been edible in Old Hyrule, before it got flooded…. Berries, edible leaves, and the like proved much easier to come across than wild game.

Kekuta wasn't surprised that he survived the couple of nights outside. Was there anything to threaten him? He'd built a small shelter the first night, but slept in the open on the second night. Truly, he was alone out here. On the third day, he finally saw New Hyrule Castle on the horizon. He moved as fast as he could, trying to get there before sundown. And it was already the afternoon. He knew that the drawbridge closed every night to keep things out and the people safe, and he was not about to go unprotected tonight. When Kekuta got there, he managed to grab onto the drawbridge just as it started to close, tumbling down the inside.

He got himself a proper meal, and signed into the inn for the night. He thought it was weird that nothing noteworthy happened. Last time he spent a night at an inn, he'd been almost killed by Ganondorf. The only thing he noticed was that being this close to Princess Zelda made his entire left hand throb with medium-level pain. It wasn't unbearable, but it was more than a nuisance.

Kekuta woke up the next morning, and was thankful to have done so. He got some breakfast, and was just enjoying the peace he didn't expect to have here. But after breakfast time, he had something to do. After he finished eating, he planned to head straight to the Castle.

Kekuta managed to find a good vantage point to view the distance between himself and the Castle. What he saw just about scared him off.

"Holy hell!" he almost yelled. "Is there any way to do this? I need to get in and stop the Princess' reign, but I certainly can't get caught by _them_!"

There were guards _everywhere_! Very few spots on the field were left uncovered. There was no way he could just sneak by. He was bound to be seen!

And Kekuta got an idea. He took out the Metal Bow and a Metal Arrow. Aiming carefully, he shot one of the guards right in the back of the head! It bounced off his helmet, but the guard seemed convinced that one of the others had conked him while he was turned away. They got into an argument, distracting several more guards in the process. This worked so well, in fact, that Kekuta decided to try it two more times (because he only had two arrows left now). It worked like a charm. Now, he could slip by with just a little bit of difficulty. Finally, he was going to stop Zelda from abusing the powers of the Triforce. Or at least, he hoped he would.

Kekuta simply walked in the front door, just like any citizen would. If anyone had anything to say, they could say it to Zelda's face. Otherwise, she usually didn't care. Because of this, every man, woman, child, and his brother in New Hyrule knew how to get to Princess Zelda's throne room. Kekuta headed straight there. As expected, he saw the Princess on her throne, Sacred Scepter in her right hand, Ganondorf at her side.

Ganondorf stood up, hands on his swords. The Princess looked directly at Kekuta, making her eye contact as obvious as possible. "Young man, what is your name, and what business do you have with me?"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of Legend of Zelda series

**Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of **_**Legend of Zelda**_** series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I did some checking, and it would appear that I might have to hand Nintendo rights to everything in this story. But legal issues surrounding fan-made stories are incredibly complicated, so I'll have to find someone who can easily explain it to me. For now, I think I just don't own any concept in this story that's specific to The Legend of Zelda. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.**

"My name is Kekuta. I come from the town of Meho, and – pardon me, Princess, but why is your hand shaking like that?" As much as Kekuta hated taking any risks in front of the Princess, he was sure he could defend himself if he had to. The Black Triangle promised this when he had obtained the last of the Three Reds. He just hoped they weren't lying.

The Princess was holding nothing back. "My hand is shaking because there is a threat to my power very near to me, probably as close, I would guess, as just outside of Castle Town. I should hope that I deal with this threat soon, so as to preserve my own existence, as all people are wired to do." Then, the Princess got an idea. Why couldn't she force some of this through their link? She willed the effect to be shared, both for her relief and Kekuta's discomfort. Sure enough, Kekuta's hand started shaking slightly, and Zelda's calmed down a little. "So, is this the business you have with me? You intend to take away my power for a perceived 'good'?"

"Hey, now wait!" said Kekuta, who started to get nervous in the Princess' presence, "I didn't want to do this. I was born with the Black Triangle on the back of my hand, and over the last several days, I came across the Three Reds. I didn't intend to have any part in this. The task was assigned to me by the Goddesses, when they decided that you abused the powers of the Triforce. Unfortunately for the both of us, I'm as apt to follow a divine order as the next guy. Actually, this started that day that I saw you hovering over the burning destruction of Erowp."

"That was you?" asked the Princess, eyes suddenly going a little wide.

"Yep. Maybe you even remember me complimenting you on a job thoroughly done?"

At this, the Princess put her left palm to her face. "I just had to miss…," she said to herself.

"What was that?" asked Kekuta, suddenly feeling distanced from the conversation.

"Nothing," replied the Princess. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I'm here because of a massive power that I discovered some time ago. You're here because of some divine intervention that took place over many years. We're about to see who can use their power better, right?"

"You seem to have a good idea of what neither of us particularly wants to do. However, it would definitely relieve the pain in the back of my hand, no matter the outcome. You want to preserve your power, but that can only be done by conquering me. Are you ready, Zelda?"

Zelda started to rise into the air, and energy began to build on the end of the Sacred Scepter. "Nobody calls me that. You will address me as 'Princess,' like every other citizen." She let loose the energy ball. Kekuta put up his shield, but only to have it disintegrate when the energy ball arrived. Fortunately, the contact dispelled the energy ball, too. "Well, that gets rid of your defense," said Zelda as she charged another energy ball. Kekuta drew the Akaiha to try to swat the ball back, but the energy knocked the sword from his hands.

_Well, at least it's poof-proof, _thought Kekuta to himself as he retrieved it. He got a different idea this time. He remembered that his sword's blade turned to energy when he focused. He'd try that on the next energy ball.

"Ganondorf, get in there! Get that sword away from him!" Zelda seemed to know that the sword was special, probably since the energy ball didn't take care of it. As obediently as a dog might, Ganondorf took out his twin blades and charged at Kekuta. He made contact and held it for a few seconds.

"I've been waiting for our rematch. I'll not hold back this time, Kekuta."

"For a man so serious about his work, you should do a better job of it," Kekuta retorted.

Ganondorf was thankful to have another chance at taking out this boy. It meant that he may be able to redeem himself in Zelda's eyes. Kekuta felt that this fight was much tougher than the last. One reason was because his sword was somewhat heavier than the previous one he'd used; another reason was that Ganondorf was not sparing any expense on this fight. They both gave it their all, but Kekuta won in the same position as last time, sword across the man's throat.

"I hoped it wouldn't end the same way again, y'know," said Kekuta. "And this time, I may have to kill you." Naturally, this struck something inside Ganondorf.

"Please tell me there's a way out," Ganondorf begged, voice breaking.

"Help me fight the Princess. Surely, even you see that what she's done with the Triforce is wrong."

"You can't be serious," said Ganondorf. Before he could continue, Kekuta responded.

"It's either that or this'll be your last fight, Ganondorf," said Kekuta.

"You don't understand. I swore to serve the Princess until she'd have me no more. Do you really think I'd break an oath to someone with such power? I used to have the Triforce of Power alone, and believe me when I say that Zelda's much scarier than I could have been. I told you before, the only alternative is death, and I'm quite fond of my life." Ganondorf really seemed to care deeply not only for his own life, but for some sort of moral direction as well.

"Ganondorf!" yelled the Princess, "As much as I'd hate to lose you in the process, do I have to destroy the both of you just to get rid of this boy? I'd be an appropriate penalty. You've failed me twice with this boy, now."

"You see?" said Kekuta, "She won't hesitate to kill you if it means beating me. Help me, and you'll be able to live."

Ganondorf thought for a moment. Soon, he addressed Zelda. "Princess! Which is worse: Your penalty for defying you against my oath, or death?"

The question confused Zelda a bit, but she was far too accustomed to answering people's questions. "Given what I have in store for you, Ganondorf, they're about equal, I'd say."

"That settles it, Kekuta," said Ganondorf, smiling a bit. "If I can't have the Triforce, no one can."

"Just great!" pouted Zelda. "Just what I needed today: everyone turning against me just because I want to stay alive. Well, I'm sure I can take you if I've got the power of a god!" She floated to the ground. The Sacred Scepter was engulfed in light, and when the light went away, it was a sword blade.

Kekuta and Ganondorf both faced Zelda, who appeared ready for their challenge. She took a ready stance and looked both of them in the eyes.

"Just try it."

Ganondorf and Kekuta immediately split up, hoping to get decent positions on either side of Zelda. Just before they got to completely opposite sides, they charged her simultaneously. But the all-powerful Princess was not to be outdone. She was dodging Kekuta's sword altogether and parrying Ganondorf with more skill than any of the legendary Heroes. It seemed like it would go on forever. Kekuta decided to try something that he didn't know the odds of success for. He gripped the Akaiha's handle and turned the blade into energy. He made several horizontal slashes at Zelda, who was still busy protecting herself from Ganondorf. He was hoping to catch her off-guard eventually, but she kept dodging him. Eventually, Ganondorf lost his grip on his swords, and they ended up in Zelda's left hand. Using the power of the Triforce, she fused the handles together to make a double-sided sword.

"Ganondorf, you disappoint me. What happened to these legendary sword skills you demonstrated for me when I first found you? You will not make it out of this alive."

"Princess, I never expected to. Not once I allied myself with Kekuta." He was respectful to her to the very end. The Princess mentally threw him against the wall. Ganondorf hit it quite a few feet off the ground, and fell motionless into a sitting position against the wall, head going limp. He would never rise.

Zelda turned to Kekuta with her sword in her right hand and Ganondorf's swords in her left. "You didn't actually expect to be able to defeat the Power of the Gods, did you?" She rose up into the air again and charged another energy ball. Kekuta made his way to the opposite side of the throne room from her. Zelda let loose the energy ball, sending it flying straight towards Kekuta. Kekuta got an idea this time around. He gripped the handle of the Akaiha as hard as he could, and turned the blade into energy. He swatted at the energy ball, and it went flying back towards Zelda. She slashed with the Sacred Scepter, hurling it back towards Kekuta. Kekuta returned it again. The Princess saw that this was going nowhere fast, and threw the energy ball down to the ground, which made several rock chips fly up, but didn't do much damage otherwise. Kekuta went towards Zelda, so that he might hit her with the next ball. As he ran, she charged again. She let loose when Kekuta had absolutely minimal time to react. But Kekuta managed to reflect it anyway, and Zelda sent it towards a corner of the ceiling.

She would have charged another if it wasn't for the fact that she was almost within reach of Kekuta's sword. She went down to the ground, and took a ready stance with her swords in a ready position. "Three against one. You're outnumbered, boy. You'll meet the same end as Ganondorf."

Kekuta took a ready stance himself, waiting for Zelda to make the first attack. They happened to charge each other at the same time, and Kekuta was having quite a time trying to block two or three blades at once. Soon enough, he stopped caring about his own safety, and just concentrated on getting to Zelda. With a great slash from his lower left to his upper right, he managed to knock Ganondorf's swords out of Zelda's hand. They flew quite far, too. Zelda saw that it was too much risk to retrieve them. She was defending herself, not attacking. Kekuta's flurry of attacks was too formidable for her to do anything but defend. But he was still slow because his sword was so heavy, so Zelda wasn't going to get hit any time soon.

There was something that Kekuta noticed while he was attacking: no matter how hard he hit, Zelda simply would not drop the sword. At times, it looked like she'd rather get seriously injured than drop the thing. So he got an idea. He made an attack from his upper left directed down to his lower right. She blocked predictably, and Kekuta grabbed her wrist and spun himself along the outside of her right arm, so that he wasn't in front of her sword anymore. But something happened. Kekuta felt something like an electric shock go up his arm. They broke contact at the abrupt pain, falling in approximately opposite directions.

"What the hell was that!?" screamed Zelda, who was examining the back of her hand. "Look what you did! Do you see what happened? Do you!?" Zelda held up her right hand.

Kekuta took a look. There appeared to be bits of the Triforce missing. Just random spots that weren't gold any longer. Kekuta looked at the back of his left hand. Splotches of the Three Reds were gone, too. He took another look at Zelda, and then looked at his hand again. He held up his hand for Zelda to see. "The same thing happened to me. And look, the same bits are missing, too."

"Do you have any idea how much that hurt?" asked Zelda, still in a fit.

"I might. I got an incredible pain that felt like an electric shock. What did you get?"

"That sounds like it. Ganondorf wasn't kidding when he said everything has a balance. Damn. As hard as it may be, I have to get close to you to have even a chance of defeating you. Obviously, my airborne approach didn't work. And your close-range skills are formidable. Ganondorf was right about you. But that doesn't mean he didn't fail me. Not even in retrospect. Kekuta, make sure you know this: someone is going to die today, and it's going to be one of us." Zelda seemed to have calmed down.

"I know that," replied Kekuta. "And if you hadn't abused your power, we'd both be fine. If it wasn't for the many others you killed, it wouldn't be you who was about to experience it right now. Lay down your sword, and we can both walk away from this. Yo-" Zelda cut him off.

"I can't do that! It's impossible."

"What? That can't be, Princess. Why would you no-" He got cut off again.

"Because I wished for it on the Triforce. The Sacred Scepter bound the Triforce to me all this time. I can never let-"

"You can't wish on the rest of your power to let the sword go? That's pretty sad. You know, then, that I will have to kill you to stop you from abusing the powers of the Triforce, right?"

"I never thought of that," said Zelda. She closed her eyes, and her hand opened. The sword dropped to the ground. It was engulfed in light, and became the original Master Sword again. Zelda then extended her hand. "Finish it. One of the reasons I hunted down the third piece was because it looked terrible with the triangles being two light and one dark. It looked nice before. But now it looks terrible again."

Kekuta was somewhat confused. "Do you really want to experience that pain again?"

"Of course not! What kind of sick mind would? I just want to get rid of the rest of this thing so that the back of my hand looks nice again."

Kekuta stepped forward and grabbed Zelda's wrist again. They both fell to the ground and cried out at the excruciating pain. When they stopped feeling the shock, they both looked at their hands. The Three Reds, Black Triangle, and Triforce were gone. But Kekuta and Zelda noticed a light above them. The Triforce was above them, glowing and spinning out of their reach. The faces of the triangles were golden, and the thicknesses were red. It slowly faded out, vanishing from their sight completely.

Kekuta stood up and grabbed the Master Sword. "I'm going to take this," he said. "I'm going to go out into the sea as far as the Zoras will take me. I will throw the Master Sword and Akaiha as far into the Great Sea as I can. This must never repeat itself."

Kekuta didn't realize that Zelda was quietly trying to hold back tears. She stuttered, "If that's all the business you have with me, then leave."

Kekuta left and did exactly as he said he would.

A week later, Kekuta went to a funeral that everyone in New Hyrule was to attend. It was held in the Public Entertainment area of the Castle. He was happy that they'd finally found the body, but sad for whose it was. He was silent, flashing back the whole time to his time with her. He still wasn't quite sure why she did it. All he'd seen was the newspaper, which said that Zelda had locked herself in a dungeon cell, and hid the key so that not only could it not be found, she wouldn't be able to describe exactly where it was. She died of dehydration, and the kingdom was thrown into a panic. Young Zelda's parents, Tetra and the Hero of Winds, were notified as soon as they could be found. They were put back into power by request of the people, and arranged for their daughter's funeral to be as grand as possible, as was appropriate for a Princess. Kekuta never decided whether or not he should go to them and describe the events that had led up to Zelda's death, and ended up putting it off indefinitely.

Notes: Honestly, I am not satisfied with this ending. I wanted to do something more creative, but my only other option really seemed to be Kekuta kills Zelda -- fight over. Stereotypes were something I wanted to avoid in this story (especially stereotypes of the Legend of Zelda series).

WARNING: ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS SPOILERS!

This story was inspired by the fact that near the end of TP, Zelda is actually one of the boss fights. But, the "name" of the boss is "Ganon's Puppet Zelda". Combine mind control with the fact that Zelda dies about three times over the course of the game, and it's really not that impressive that Zelda's a boss. So, I asked the question, "What if Zelda was actually evil, instead of just being controlled?"

END OF TP SPOILERS!

So, given that inspiration, I started writing. I got, like, five or six chapters done in one sitting. With one stereotype thrown out, I decided to throw as many as I could with it. But I became stuck. After Chapter Six, I still hadn't established a Hero character. Yet another hero named "Link" would be rather cliched, so I invented my own guy. He's got slightly more personality than Link, and makes it obvious that he'd rather sit this one out if he could. He doesn't sport the usual look of the "Hero", and he talks. I chose the name "Kekuta" because I based this fanfiction on a Japanese game, and I just think that going from Ke to Ku to Ta in Katakana is a cool progression, in regards to looks. Every part of this that centered around Kekuta was forced, especially because he was never part of the original inspiration, but I felt that I owed him about as much story time as Zelda had gotten, because Kekuta was the hero of this story. And I received positive feedback anyway, so I'm happy with the story as it stands. This is basically the reason that I took so long with the story: I had to force it to progress (but I gave it my best shot). This is also part of the reason I think the ending sucks - Zelda's not around for it. But again, I gave it my best shot. I've actually been looking forward to writing this fight for a while. I'm satisfied with the events that transpired during the fight, but I feel that the quality dropped like a marble on Jupiter as soon as the whole "grab her wrist" thing started. I had the contact planned, but not what happened after it.

So, I apologize if the ending really does suck. If anyone has any helpful tips that might make it better, please don't hesitate to share them.

I'm done talking now, so this is the end of my notes. It was (mostly) a pleasure to write this! Thank you for reading!


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